6 Ways Daycare Centers Can Help Fight Obesity In Children

According to the CDC, obesity in children starts from a very young age. In their measurements from 2007-2008, 10.4% of children aged 2-5 years were obese. This means parents have to be very vigilant to keep obesity rates down, but it also means that day care centers share that responsibility. They have to make sure the children under their care don’t develop bad habits and help educate parents about healthy choices.

To address this concern, we have compiled a list of six key measures that day care centers can implement to effectively reduce the prevalence of childhood obesity.

Juice and milk are often served as rewards, but they’re also one of the big reasons for an increase in obesity in children. Sugary drinks are the main target for most parents, but you’d be surprised how many of them don’t consider juice and milk to be fattening. Juice should always be 100% juice and only served at mealtimes. Additionally, children should not be served more than 4-6 ounces of juice per day, including at home. Milk should be skim or 1% for children over 2 years of age, and whole milk for ages 1-2.

This deficit isn’t the result of any innate limitations, however — children with autism scored evenly with other kids in every fitness capability metric except strength. Researchers believe this proves they are just as capable. Yet something is preventing them from getting enough exercise.

Of course, water is always an option. Water remains the optimal beverage choice for individuals of all ages. If children are thirsty, make sure they have access to enough water. Most children in day care can tell when they are thirsty and when they’ve had enough. It’s not until school that children learn to sneak water breaks to get away from the teacher!

Candy may make an excellent reward (or bribe), but it does no good for maintaining a healthy weight. Even “healthy” snacks like pretzels don’t offer a lot of nutrition and can cause weight gain in excess. Avoid snacks that are high in salt, bad fats, and sugar as they are always boosters of obesity in children.

Instead, snacks should be made from healthy things like vegetables and whole-grain bread, and should also be served in moderation. Foods should be offered in variety in order to ensure adequate nutrition.

Unfortunately for some kids, your healthy meal could be the only one they’re getting during the day. That’s why it’s so important to…

New parents often have bad eating habits and need to be re-educated. Day care centers can play a big role in combating obesity in children. Have your menus posted and provide nutrition guidelines to parents. Check the children’s lunches to make sure the meals they bring meet the guidelines and talk with parents about the nutritional choices they’re making.

If parents are resisting your recommendations, there may not be much you can do. You could put your foot down and require parents to pack healthy food for their kids, but if those rules are ignored, your options are limited to charging extra or denying services to the family. If a new family isn’t following the rules, try educating them first on healthy foods - they might just need a bit of a wake-up call.

Exercise is another major component of good health and fighting obesity in children. But ensuring that children get enough exercise can be a challenge in a day care setting, especially in day care facilities located in major metropolitan areas, where there may not be room for a playground.

Fortunately, there are forms of indoor play that can help kids run around inside without hurting themselves.

One popular option is interactive projection, such as the interactive projection systems from EyeClick. Consoles such as BEAM and Obie project games onto any floor, wall, or table where up to 10 kids can play at once. There is no extra equipment that has to be cleaned and sanitized. Just a simple sweeping of the floor and the mess is cleaned up. Many daycares and thousands of indoor play spaces already use EyeClick with great success.

One of the difficulties facing daycares today is that kids are accustomed to screen time early. Teaching children classic outdoor games like tag can be a way to counteract this and overcome obesity in children. Encourage parents to play these games with their kids to get them away from sitting down and looking at screens all day. Screens may make a great babysitter, but they’re no good for a child’s long-term health. As a general rule, preschoolers should get 90-120 minutes of exercise for every eight hours they’re awake. Toddlers should get 60-90 minutes.

If you do have outdoor games, encourage parents to leave a set of clothes to change into at the center in case of rain or mud. There should also be adequate shade for hot days. Removing barriers like these will keep children safe and clean while they play outside.

Although playing outdoors is ideal, it’s often impossible due to weather safety, or space constraints. Interactive projectors, such as those made by EyeClick can be the perfect indoor substitute for active outdoor play.

Good sleep habits are another thing that preschools and daycares can teach children. This is a major factor in reducing obesity in children. Most of us have fond memories of nap time during our kindergarten years. Much of the advice that works for adults also applies to children. Screen time before bed often makes it hard to go to sleep, so remove television and computers from sleeping areas.

Having a pre-nap or pre-sleep routine is also good for prepping the body for sleep. These should be developed and taught to parents that are having difficulty getting their child to sleep.For those caring for infants, it is beneficial to put them to bed when they are drowsy but still awake. This approach helps them develop the ability to sleep independently, fostering self-soothing skills.

With so many parents working and turning their early childhood care over to daycare centers, it’s vital that these centers take charge in establishing good habits in children and educating parents on what they need to do at home to make sure those habits stick. Good dietary habits, exercise routines, screen time control, and sleep are all necessary for long-term health.

If we all work together, our rates of early childhood obesity should go down significantly and help reverse the trend of the overall obesity epidemic.

EyeClick is a world leader in interactive technology and the creator of BEAM and Obie - award-winning gaming solutions for both children and adults. EyeClick’s user-friendly technology and engaging interactive games provide unique and memorable interactive entertainment in over 15,000 locations worldwide, including McDonald’s, Marriott, NASA, and IKEA.

With just an EyeClick interactive projector and some motivated players, you can instantly turn any floor, wall, or table top into an immersive, active, and highly social experience.

EyeClick’s Education solution improves memory, problem-solving, and cooperation by providing students with a fun and effective way to learn through play.

Sources:

American Academy of Pediatrics, American Public Health Association, and National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education. Preventing Childhood Obesity in Early Care and Education: Selected Standards from Caring for Our Children: National Health and Safety Performance Standards; Guidelines for Early Care and Education Programs, 3rd Edition; 2010.
National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education, University of Colorado Denver. National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education: Achieving a State of Healthy Weight: A National Assessment of Obesity Prevention Terminology in Child Care Regulations 2010. Aurora, CO; 2011.
Institute of Medicine. Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Policies. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2011.
Position of the American Dietetic Association: Benchmarks for Nutrition in Child Care. J Am Diet Assoc. 2011;111:607-615.